GATTI, Mauricio
In the Jungle There Is Much to Do

En la selva hay mucho por hacer / In the Jungle There Is Much to Do is the story of a group of animals trapped by a hunter and locked up in the city zoo. Missing their little ones and their jungle home they begin to plot their escape. It is an anarchist fable and a coloring book for all ages. Mauricio Gatti, imprisoned in 1971 for his activities as a member of an anarchist resistance movement in Uruguay, initially produced these drawings and lines of verse as letters to his then three-year-old daughter Paula—to communicate why he was behind bars, separated from her. Applying anarchist pedagogic principles, the combination of text and images offers a portrayal of the injustice of prison that engages sensitive young humans on their own terms. These materials were compiled into a book and published by the anarchist commune Comunidad del Sur in 1971, after Gatti’s release. [publishers’ note]

Making an English translation of Mauricio Gatti’s work available for the first time, the book is part of a series of publications produced by the 11th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, curated by María Berríos, Renata Cervetto, Lisette Lagnado, and Agustín Pérez Rubio.

With an essay by María Berríos.

Published by Berlin Biennale, 2019
Design by Till Gathmann
Comics & Illustrations / Politics